A lightning strike is being fingered as the culprit for causing a two-hour early morning power outage last week in Penhold and the surrounding area.
Jim Pendergast, the town's fire chief, said a call came in at 4:06 a.m. on April 23 that a fire was burning on a power pole on Highway 42 at the Waskasoo Avenue intersection near the Penhold Regional Multiplex.
“I think it is probably the culprit,” said Pendergast in his “best guess” to determine whether a lightning strike caused the power outage. “The power pole was on fire and snapped off halfway up the pole. People heard a loud noise and saw a big flash, and then they saw another big flash.”
He said 11 firefighters were dispatched to the scene. They worked with the RCMP to shut the highway down while waiting for FortisAlberta crews to arrive, said Pendergast.
“While we were there a resident of the north side of Highway 42 said he thought he had sparking at his house,” said Pendergast, adding the power pole and the residence were only 300 metres apart. “Fortis feels it was all from the same incident. It was such a large flash that everybody would have seen it.”
Pendergast said no injuries were reported from the lightning strike and FortisAlberta had the power back on in Penhold at about 6:10 a.m.
He said it's also believed the power outage was responsible for power going out in other areas around the town, including in Innisfail.
“Every time we have had a power incident in Penhold in the last three or four years it has affected areas around Springbrook and Gasoline Alley,” said Pendergast, adding the incident affected parts of Red Deer as well.
Meanwhile, Pendergast's crews were called out six hours later at 12:40 p.m. to a fire on Mann Drive.
He said the fire started in a storage container in an outside adjacent garage.
“The container was full of some material including a gas can. The fire extended up the side of the exterior of the attached garage,” said Pendergast, adding the fire is believed to have started from improperly discarded smoker's material blown in by the wind.
He said the owner of the residence and a neighbour extinguished the fire. Pendergast added fire crews checked the affected area with a thermal imager to make sure the fire was out through the use of water and foam.
He said the estimated damage from the fire is about $5,000.
“We would like to remind everyone that it is essential to call 911 when you have a fire, whether you may think the fire is out or not,” said Pendergast. “Many buildings have been destroyed or damaged and people seriously injured when occupants have thought they have extinguished the fire.”
